full force of his lungs:  “Where be those owls, those oxen of the oxen, those beggars, those cut-off ones, those foreigners, those Sons of Flight[FN#13]? withered be their hands! palsied be their fingers! the foul mustachioed fellows, basest of the Arabs that ever hammered tent-peg, sneaking cats, goats of Al-Akhfash![FN#14] Truly I will torture them the torture of the oil,[FN#15] the mines of infamy! the cold of countenance![FN#16]” The Badawi brotherhood of the camel-men looked at him wickedly, muttering the while,-"By Allah! and by Allah!

[p.278] and by Allah!  O boy, we will flog thee like a hound when we catch thee in the Desert!” All our party called upon him to desist, but his temper had got completely the upper hand over his discretion, and he expressed himself in such classic and idiomatic Hijazi, that I had not the heart to stop him.  Some days after our arrival at Al-Madinah, Shaykh Hamid warned him seriously never again to go such perilous lengths, as the Beni Harb were celebrated for shooting or poniarding the man who ventured to use to them even the mild epithet “O jackass!” And in the quiet of the city the boy Mohammed, like a sobered man shuddering at dangers braved when drunk, hearkened with discomposure and penitence to his friend’s words.  The only immediate consequence of his abuse was that my broken Shugduf became a mere ruin, and we passed the dark hours perched like two birds upon the only entire bits of framework the cots contained.

The sun had nearly risen (July 25th) before I shook off the lethargic effects of such a night.  All around me were hurrying their camels, regardless of rough ground, and not a soul spoke a word to his neighbour.  “Are there robbers in sight?” was the natural question.  “No!” replied Mohammed; “they are walking with their eyes,[FN#17] they will presently see their homes!” Rapidly we passed the Wady al-Akik,[FN#18] of which,

“O my friend, this is Akik, then stand by it,

Endeavouring to be distracted by love, if not really a lover,"[FN#19]

[p.279] and a thousand other such pretty things, have been said by the Arab poets.  It was as “dry as summer’s dust,” and its “beautiful trees” appeared in the shape of vegetable mummies.  Half an hour after leaving the “Blessed Valley” we came to a huge flight of steps roughly cut in a long broad line of black scoriaceous basalt.  This is termed the Mudarraj or flight of steps over the western ridge of the so-called Al-Harratayn.[FN#20] It is holy ground; for the Apostle spoke well of it.  Arrived at the top, we passed through a lane of dark lava, with steep banks on both sides, and after a few minutes a full view of the city suddenly opened upon us.[FN#21]

We halted our beasts as if by word of command.  All of us descended, in imitation of the pious of old, and sat down, jaded and hungry as we were, to feast our eyes with a view of the Holy City.

“O Allah! this is the Harim (sanctuary) of Thy Apostle; make it to us a Protection from Hell Fire, and a Refuge from Eternal Punishment!  O open the Gates of Thy Mercy, and let us pass through them to the Land of Joy!” and “O Allah, bless the last of Prophets, the Seal of Prophecy, with Blessings in number